The Ethics of Giacomo Leopardi : A Philosophy for the Environmental Crisis

Gibson, Alice

Bloomsbury Academic（2023/11発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 256 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781350298644
• DDC分類 179.1

Full Description

Providing a comprehensive introduction to the work of pioneering poet-philosopher Giacomo Leopardi, Alice Gibson pushes his thought into new directions by investigating how his ethics and philosophy of nature offer means for understanding and taking responsibility for the environmental crisis.

Through examination of the whole of Leopardi's oeuvre, from the Zibaldone to the poems he wrote towards the end of his life, this book disrupts the common image of Leopardi as a pessimist poet whose works contribute to the nihilistic tradition. The Ethics of Giacomo Leopardi instead uncovers his forward-looking views on living in a multispecies world, in which humans live alongside other living beings in a delicate ecosystem that not only requires respect, but also instigates wonder.

Bringing Leopardi's thought into dialogue with contemporary ecological theorists such as Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, and Timothy Morton, Gibson reveals how a Leopardian ethics of solidarity, compassion and community is the guide we need today to reframe our relationship with nature.

Contents

Introduction

Part I: Vices, Trifles, and Illusions
1. Problematizing Works
2. Barbarous Times in the Zibaldone
3. The General Spirit of the Age in the Operette
4. Exonerating Humanity

Part II: Dreams and Vision
5. A Philosophy that Aims to Cure in the Canti
6. The Property of Works of Genius: Should Laughter or Pity Prevail?
7. The Limits of Leopardi's Thought
8. Resignifying Leopardi Today
Conclusion: Planetary Solidarity

Bibliography
Index